M16/AR-15 style rifles use a T-shaped charging handle to manually open the rifle's action and pull the bolt carrier assembly rearward. Heretofore, the charging handle locks into position within the upper receiver using a spring loaded latch lever. As showing in FIGS. 1 and 2 hereof, a conventional charging handle 20 has an elongated pull rod 22 and a T-shaped handle part 24. The T-shaped handle allows a user to pull the charging handle to operate the action by hooking the forefinger and middle finger of the right hand over the ends of the T-handle and pulling it to the rear. A spring loaded L-shaped latch lever 26 is pivotally connected to charging handle 20 by a pivot pin 28. A coil spring 30 forces the hooked end 28 of latch lever 26 to seat within a notch 11 formed in the side of the upper receiver 10, thereby securing the charging handle in a forward position. The latch lever prevents the charging handle from moving rearward except when a user applies pressure to the latch lever, which occurs naturally when deliberately pulling on the crossbar of the charging handle.
The charging handle assembly of this invention uses a magnetic latching mechanism to eliminate the need for a spring loaded latch mechanism found on conventional M16/AR-15 style weapons. The magnetic latching mechanism consists of magnetically attracting plugs or screws mounted to or within the upper receiver and the charging handle. The magnetic attraction between the adjacent plugs provides the locking force to secure the charging handle in the closed position while still allowing the user to manually pull the handle to the open position when necessary.
The above described features and advantages, as well as others, will become more readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by reference to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.